Against monotheism

Submitted by Harry Eagar (United States), Oct 28, 2002 at 17:55

All religion is more or less evil, but the most evil kind is the universalizing,
salvationist monotheism, which can brook no other religious opposition
and seeks to bring in unbelievers.

It should not be hard to understand, in theory, why such a worldview
would result in violence; but even if theory does not ring clear, history
is full of examples.

There have not been a lot of universalizning, salvationist monotheisms; and
just two big ones. Christianity has been tamed, after a long and bloody
career; the religion of the Koran has not been tamed.

Nor is there much evidence that anyone resident within the religion is
trying to tame it. Since Sept. 11, there have been some arrests of
what Pipes would call modernist militants; but these have all come from
military governors, who, we are usually assured, do not represent the
mainstream or good side of the religion.

Maybe not, but they do represent the tendency to law and order against
indiscriminate violence that marks the civilized society from the savage. It
would be easier to accept Pipes' distinction if the alleged peaceful
part of the religion was doing anything to excise the violent part.

Pending some evidence on those lines, the people who claim the religion
is inherently violentand aggressive have all the current evidence on their side.

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